Silent Graves

Pry poured himself another lowball of scotch as he reached for his inbox. He'd already responded to most of his mail, and only one envelope remained. He hoped this one was a paying job. He cut it open and pulled out the letter.

"To Mr. Prying Eyes:

"I represent a group of Equestrian citizens concerned for their well-being. In light of the recent string of murders that has cropped up during the last three months, many of us are put rather on edge. We are aware that most of the recent deaths are not from the original source, as the victims turn up in a different state that is more manufactured than the original victims. These murders were committed by different ponies, as evidenced by the fact that they were all manufactured in different ways.

"That is why I'm asking you, as a private investigator, to look into the most recent cases. Specifically, we want you to find anything you can on the matter of the copycats. We want the guards to find the original, but with them trying to find multiple different killers, we think they're being overworked. This will help clear their workload, and will make the city a safer place to raise our children. I want my son to grow up safe, a notion shared by my peers.

"We believe that, as there are four victims that were killed by an alternate method, there are four killers or groups of killers. The first case has already been admitted to, so we shall strike that from the list of ponies you would need to track down. That leaves three at this time.

"We do not expect you to do this task out of the goodness of your heart. How good your heart is is not known to us, but your investigative skills are. Upon finding out who these foul ponies are, we will pay five thousand bits each for the information you dig up, less the down payment you will be given on startup for expenses, an amount up to one thousand bits each. It is imperative that this information not only go to us, but to the guards as well, as we want these murderers put behind bars for their actions.

"If you accept, reply to this letter immediately, and I, as a representative of my peers, will come in to speak with you regarding payment for your services. We hope that you will help us to improve the quality of ponies around us.

"Sincerely, Fly Agaricus"

This was fantastic news. It was a paying job that, if completed, would net him three months' rent. Even better, there was a good chance that he could settle the whole thing in three weeks, if he was lucky. That would require working with the guards, but that wouldn't be an issue. He'd worked with them before on several occasions, and he had a good rapport with a lot of them. He pulled out a clean sheet of paper and fed it into his typewriter, hammering away on the keys.

"Mr. or Ms. Fly Agaricus:

"I am happy to tell you that I will take your case at earliest convenience. My office hours are from eight in the morning to ten in the evening. You can come in at any of those times that is convenient for you. All of my current cases are in the filing stage, so I should be around.

"I will be asking for the full amount of your down payment, as I do plan on going after all three at once, and the cost I accrue is always variable. For best results, we should start prepared. To that end, any information you have already accrued will be most helpful, so I must request that you bring that with you.

"Looking forward to doing business with you,
Prying Eyes."

He pulled the page out of the typewriter and folded it in thirds, slipping it into an envelope and securing a stamp in the corner. That would be going out tomorrow morning. In the meantime, he had some paperwork to do, and his dinner had already gone cold in its polystyrene container.

He woke up on his desk the next morning. He hadn't even made it to his bed, despite it just being a pull-out couch in the next room. He could hear his alarm clock going off on his nightstand. Groggily, he walked over to it and turned it off, only to find that he had to rush back into the office to answer the door.

"Mr. Agaric?" he asked, opening the door.

"Just Gari is fine," responded the stallion standing outside. "I was rather pleased that you responded right away. May I come in?"

"Of course, of course," he responded, opening the door further and stepping out of the way. "You can just call me Pry, if you wish. Please, have a seat."

Gari sat down in front of the desk and removed his saddlebags. "Now, as I said in my letter, I want to know that the pony or ponies responsible are brought to justice. I came to you because you have a reputation for being professional."

Pry smoothed back his short mane and wiped his face as he sat down. "My apologies for my disheveled state," he yawned. "I fell asleep in my chair while doing my filings, and your knocking woke me up, that's all."

"Are you not ready? I can give you time to have breakfast and come back."

"No, no, I'm fine. Your time is valuable, so let's be underway. I'll eat when we're done." He slid a fresh sheet of paper into his typewriter. "Just give me one minute to change out the ink ribbon."

"Of course," nodded Gari. "So, how sure are you that you can find these copycats? As I said, we're all pretty sure that they're all different ponies. They can't seem to agree in their methods or their victims. It all just seems to be too convenient. The last one that fits the modus operandi was that radio hostess. Every other time, the cause of death has been different according to the coroner's reports."

With a click, the ribbon cover slotted back into place. "Pretty sure," smiled Pry. "Now, what can you tell me about the victims?"